Suspected IRA link justifies decision to revoke gun licence says judge
A man whose licence to hold guns was revoked amid allegations of having previously been an on-the-run IRA member suffered no unfairness, the High Court ruled today.
A judge dismissed his challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision to deny him a fresh firearms certificate.
Mr Justice Huddleston held that the suspected paramilitary association was enough to render him unfit to hold a permit.
The man, granted anonymity and referred to as JR 86, had licences in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to use guns for vermin control and sporting purposes.
His certificate was initially revoked by the PSNI Chief Constable in May 2014 on the grounds that he was not fit to be entrusted with a firearm.
An earlier legal challenge over the failure to provide further reasons led to the disclosure of a limited summary or “gist”. It stated: “Police hold information from 2005 that (JR 86) was a member of the Provisional IRA in Londonderry who was on the run at that time.”
A further appeal against the revocation of his firearms permit was ultimately refused by the Secretary of State in June 2019.
Lawyers for JR 86 claimed it was an unfair process based on additional information he could access or comment on. The court heard he had provided detailed medical records in a bid to establish he was not on-the-run and to distance himself from IRA involvement.
But according to the Northern Ireland Office it had been an operational rather than legal issue.
Consideration was given to further security information which the authorities considered not possible to disclose.
Mr Justice Huddleston ruled: “The failure to do so does not, in my view, render the process intrinsically unfair.” In reality, according to the judge, JR 86 was aware of the substance, if not the minutiae, of the case against him and had an opportunity to respond to it.
“Fundamentally the decision was taken by reason of the applicant’s association with the Provisional IRA and in both the Chief Constable’s and then the Minister’s mind, that association was sufficient to render him unfit to hold a FAC,” he said.
“I am satisfied that… all relevant considerations were taken into account and that nothing irrelevant was included in the final determination such as would attract irrationality or unreasonableness.”